Union garment



' (No Model.)

J. L. BOYER.

UNION GARMENT.

110.589,241. Patented Aug. 31,1897.

STATES JOHN L. BOYER, OF PIQUA, OHIO.

UNION eARivlENT.

SPEGFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 589,241, dated August31, 1897.

Application filed April 14, 1897. Serial No. 632,130. (No model.)

To all whom t may con/corn.-

Be it known that I, JOHN L. BOYER, residing at Piqua, in the county ofMiami and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Union Undergarments, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in knitted undergarments of theclass known as union7 undergarments, and it has for its object toprovide such a garment possessing aneck-opening provided with divergingslits or cuts arranged and located in a novel manner by which thegarment may be placed upon and removed from the person, the meeting orlapping edges of the slits or cuts having Vfas--` tening devices sodisposed and arranged that when the garment is adjusted upon the wearerit shall not bind across the chest or bust or cause discomfort bypressure of the fastening devices upon the person.

In the manufacture of this class of articles it has long been the aim ofexperts, manufacturers, and dealers to produce an article which may beworn by women without any discomfort, binding, or pressure upon thebust, and a number of different constructions have been proposed, noneof which, however, have accomplished satisfactorily the result sought.

My invention consists in the undergarments constructed as hereinafterdescribed and claimed, reference being had to the .accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l is a front view of the garment attached tothe body of the wearer, and Fig. 2 a top plan view.

In the said drawings the reference-letter A represents the waist of thegarment, and B the" bust portion, the latter being composed of elasticknit fabric and adapted to cover the breast of the wearer without break.or interruption and having greater elasticity than the waist portion.

The reference-letter c represents shoulderseams, as usual in suchgarments where the ends of the front and back portions are united. rlhefront of the garment above the breast portion is cut or slitted, as ata, from the edge ofthe neck-opening b diagonally and diverginglydownward to the armpitopenings, as shown, the lines of the slits or cutsfollowing the line of natural depression the wearer.

existing between the shoulders and breast or chest of the wearer. Themeeting edges of the cut orslit portions are provided with suitablefastening devices, such as buttons and buttonholes, as illustrated inthe drawings, and these fastening devices lie or are pocketed in thenatural line of depression of the human body before referred to, so thatwhen the outer garments are arranged upon the person there will be nodisagreeable pressure of the fastening devices against the body of Thisarrangement or location of the slits or ,cuts a affords also a breastportion B which is elastic throughout its extent, so that it willconform without binding to all the movements of the wearer and at thesame time have a glove fit, considerations of great value in the art,especially in garments for womens wear.

In union garments constructed prior to my invention the` opening foradjusting the garment upon or removing it from the wearer has beenusually on a line extending directly across the breast portion. Vhensuch garment is fastened, the line of fastening devices is directlyacross the chest or breast and bears thereon in such manner that whenthe outer garments :are adjusted a disagreeable pressure of thefastening devices upon the wearer' is experienced. The arrangement ofthe slits or cuts in a direction across the breast of the wearer is alsoobjectionable in that when the garment is fastened there is a tension orbinding of the facing or reinforcement of the edges of the slits or cutsupon the wearer at that point, and this is more rpartici'ilarlynoticeable after the garment has been laundered and there has been ashrinkage of greater or less extent.- These objections have been foundto exist in articles of underwear as now manufactured and in practicaluse, and they are entirely obvi- -ated in a garment constructed inaccordance with my invention, where the slits or openings are arrangedin diverging or diagonal lines extending from the sides of theneckopening near the front thereof outwardly or downwardly to the armpitportions above the breast or chest and in the line or natural depressionbetween the chest and shoulders of the user. lVhen so constructed, thelline of fastening devicesis disposed in the natural depression of thehuman bod y just referred to and is free lof a disagreeable pressureupon the body. By so locating the slits and fastening devices I alsoprovide an elastic knitted breast portion which is unbroken andperfectly elastic throughout'its extent and is adapted to have a glovefit and to conform to the configuration and movements of the wearer andwhich is free of any fastening` The slits or cuts a run, as shown inthe' drawings, diagonallyT with the thread fabric instead of at rightangles, and the edges are faced wit-h a suitableelastic material, bypreference the same material of which the body of the-garment iscomposed, so that the elasticity of the fabric along the lines of thecuts or slits is not impaired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- Theherein-described undergarment, consisting of an elastic, knitted fabricprovided with la neckopening and slits or cuts extending from saidneck-opening, respectively, from a point about midway between the frontand shoulder portions thereof outwardly and downwardly to the lowerfront edge of the armpit-openings, the meeting edges of said slits orcuts being provided with fastening devices, whereby the respectiveopenings in the garment and the fastenings therefor are located alongthe line of the natural fdepression between the breast andshoulderportions of the wearer and also leave the breast portion of thegarment unbroken rand `elastic throughout Vits entire width, as setforth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

TOI-IN L. BOYER.

I/Vitnesses:

OLIVER B. KAISER, W. R. Woon.

